Inadequate sanitation in healthcare facilities: A comprehensive evaluation of toilets in major hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh

• Published in: PloS one 2024-05, Vol.19 (5), p.e0295879-e0295879
• Main Authors: Amin, Nuhu, Foster, Tim, Hossain, Md Imam, Hasan, Md Rezaul, Sarkar, Supriya, Rahman, Aninda, Adnan, Shaikh Daud, Rahman, Mahbubur, Willetts, Juliet
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Bangladesh; Caregivers; Cities; Cleanliness; Clinics; Communicable diseases; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data collection; Disabled persons; Disease transmission; Earth Sciences; Epidemics; Female; Handicapped accessibility; Health aspects; Health care; Health care facilities; Health facilities; Health Facilities - standards; Health Facilities - statistics & numerical data; Hospital patients; Hospitals; Humans; Hygiene; Infections; Infectious diseases; Insects; Male; Medicine and Health Sciences; Menstruation; Mobility; Pathogens; Patients; People and Places; Plumbing fixtures; Population density; Prevention; Public health; Refuse and refuse disposal; Sanitation; Sanitation - standards; Sanitation facilities; Sanitation services; Social Sciences; Solid wastes; Sputum; Stakeholders; Toilet facilities; Toilet Facilities - standards; Toilet Facilities - statistics & numerical data; Toilets; Womens health
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295879

Lack of access to functional and hygienic toilets in healthcare facilities (HCFs) is a significant public health issue in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), leading to the transmission of infectious diseases. Globally, there is a lack of studies characterising toilet conditions and estimating user-to-toilet ratios in large urban hospitals in LMICs. We conducted a cross-sectional study in 10-government and two-private hospitals to explore the availability, functionality, cleanliness, and user-to-toilet ratio in Dhaka, Bangladesh. From Aug-Dec 2022, we undertook infrastructure assessments of toilets in selected hospitals. We observed all toilets and recorded attributes of intended users, including sex, disability status, patient status (in-patient/out-patient/caregiver) and/or staff (doctor/nurse/cleaner/mixed-gender/shared). Toilet functionality was defined according to criteria used by the WHO/UNICEF Joint-Monitoring Programme in HCFs. Toilet cleanliness was assessed, considering visible feces on any surface, strong fecal odor, presence of flies, sputum, insects, and rodents, and solid waste. Amongst 2875 toilets, 2459 (86%) were observed. Sixty-eight-percent of government hospital toilets and 92% of private hospital toilets were functional. Only 33% of toilets in government hospitals and 56% in private hospitals were clean. A high user-to-toilet ratio was observed in government hospitals' outpatients service (214:1) compared to inpatients service (17:1). User-to-toilet ratio was also high in private hospitals' outpatients service (94:1) compared to inpatients wards (19:1). Only 3% of toilets had bins for menstrual-pad disposal and